Gambling

Contents

Overview

The ability to wager money is first introduced in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, when the player must pay entrance fees for Vice Street Racer events, with a set limit on how much he or she can bet, and perform well enough in the races to break even. In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, more activities were available that the player can take part in to wager money on in order to gain more money if the player wins the activity or lose the money wagered if the player loses the activity. With its expansion in GTA San Andreas the chances of losing/winning are more probable.

Gambling skill

In GTA San Andreas, the player can increase the gambling skill of Carl Johnson by spending money at the casinos. The skill increases by 1 for every $100 spent up to a maximum skill of 1000. There are certain activities that bars the player from playing due to a low gambling skill. The player can borrow money from the casino, leading to a negative money value. The amount allowed to borrow is based in how high the gambling skill is, the higher the skill the more is allowed to borrow. If the limit of money borrowed is reached by the player, Carl will receive a warning phone call from the casino. Eventually he will be called again and told that people will be meeting him to discuss the debt. After this a gang of hitmen will arrive and attack the player, and random attacks like this will persist until you pay off the debt. The more money borrowed from the casino, the more hitmen will be sent after the player.

Gambling Activities

GTA Vice City

Vice Street Racer is a street/drag race side mission provided by A+B Auto. The races become available after the player purchases the Sunshine Autos car showroom.

GTA San Andreas

Casino-based

Name

Image

Description

Blackjack

Blackjack is one of the activities in which the player can take part in.

The goal is to get as close to 21 as the player possibly can, without going over. The player and the dealer each start out with two cards. After the cards are dealt the player is given the choice to either hit (receive new cards), double (which doubles the bet and gives the players one more card only), or stand (stay with the cards in their hands). Receiving five cards without going over 21 automatically makes the player stand. If the player has two cards that are identical (for example 2 eights), the player may split, which allows the player to split the hand into two hands with 1 eight each. If the player goes over 21 then they are bust.

Acquiring a blackjack (an ace, and a card equivalent to 10) will give the player with a payout of 2-1, but if the casino also has a blackjack the player only gets 1-1. Also a push can occur, when both the player and the casino have the same total. When this happens the player gets their money back.

Roulette

Rules for roulette are similar to the real version- players place chips on numbers, as well as number sets, number pairs, odds or evens and red or black. If the ball lands on the number, number set, pair, or color you chose you win a payoff on your money. Each choice pays a different multiple based on how many numbers were picked with a single number having the highest payoff at 35 to 1 (36x)

Bet

Pays

Odd/Even, Red/Black, 1-18/19-36

1 to 1 (2x)

1st 12/2nd 12/3rd 12, 1st Column/2nd Column/3rd Column

2 to 1 (3x)

Set of 6 numbers

5 to 1 (6x)

Set of 4 numbers

8 to 1 (9x)

Set of 2 numbers

17 to 1 (18x)

Single number

35 to 1 (36x)

Slot machines

Slot machines are another source of gambling. While pretty standard, the slot machines can give the player a wide range of payouts from a small amount to a substantial amount. The price to play a certain machine can vary. The amount of money the player wins depends on the symbols. Playing these do not increase the gambling skill.

Video poker

In Video Poker, the player is given 5 cards initially. They then choose which cards to keep and which cards to discard in an attempt to make a hand of a pair of Jacks or Better. The player is then paid according to a defined paytable.

Wheel of Fortune

As in roulette, you put money on spots on a board. However, here you can only pick six spots- $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, and the star. The payout for each space is shown by the dollar amount (the star is $40), For example, betting $1 on the $20 spot will give $20 if the player wins. Once done betting, the wheel will be spun. If the wheel lands on the space bet on, the player will win. If not, the player loses.

Craps (BETA)

The Craps table was deleted in the released version of San Andreas but the table and the dice are still in the game files (complete with models and textures) but the dice are bigger than usual but the script may resize it.

Texas Holdem Poker (BETA)

This gambling game was deleted from the game but the table and the chips are still in the game files (with textures and models, but the table is not solid and the chips are bigger like the dice in the Craps game).

Miscellaneous

In GTA San Andreas, CJ can challenge any person at a bar who is holding a pool cue to a game of pool. A wager can be placed, with maximum wager being $1000. CJ then begins to play pool with him.

If CJ wins the game, he wins whatever he'd wagered at the beginning of the game. If he loses or quits, he loses the money he wagered. In any instance, CJ gets a pool cue, which replaces whatever melee weapon he'd had.

The Lowrider Challenge is a rhythm-based side mission in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. It is unlocked after completing the mission Cesar Vialpando, the challenge involves pushing the right analogue stick of a controller or directional keys of a keyboard in the directions prompted, making the car hop in that direction. The player can also bet up to $1,000 against the opponent, who is a member of the Varrios Los Aztecas gang.

GTA Chinatown Wars

A scratch card (also called a scratch off, scratch ticket, scratcher, scratchie, scratch-it, scratch game, scratch-and-win or instant game) is a small token where one or more areas contain concealed information: they are covered by a substance that cannot be seen through, but can be scratched off.

GTA The Lost and Damned

The basic objective of the game is to guess whether the next card dealt will be of a higher or lower value than the card on the table.

Each player takes it in turn to guess. If their guess is correct, they stay in the game and the next player along the table takes their turn. If a player guesses incorrectly, they are removed from the game until the next round. The last player left after all others have guessed incorrectly and thus been excluded is the winner, and takes the pot - $40.

The activity is basically a wager-based minigame in which the player is required compete against a computer controlled opponent for two or three rounds. The player must successfully win two rounds in order to win wholly; if the player loses in the first or second round, the game is allowed to be extended to a third round.

During a round of arm wrestling, the player needs to rapidly move the right thumb stick from left to right for console versions or rapidly move the mouse around for the PC version to win; the tougher the opponent, the more rapidly the player is required to move the thumb stick or mouse.

GTA V

The first race is presented to the player by Hao, during the Strangers and Freaks mission, Shift Work. After completing the mission, a new race will be unlocked and Franklin must continue to win the races in order to proceed to the next one. There are a total of five races in the series, and are only accessible between 20:00 and 05:00 hours. The player has to pay an entry fee, which varies depending on the race.

GTA Online

In GTA Online races, it is possible to place bets before starting the race, the bets placed will only be confirmed when enough bets have been placed. The money you placed can be won back and doubled if you win. You can also place bets on other players, directly competing them, or betting that they will win against all other players.